Milk Duds

Milk Duds are a brand of candies made with chocolate, created in 1928^[3] by Hoffman and Company of Chicago and now produced and marketed by The Hershey Company, under license from owners of the brand, Highlander Partners, a Dallas-based global private equity firm.

Milk Duds

Milk Duds
Product type	Candy
Owner	Highlander Partners / Iconic IP Interests[1]
Produced by	The Hershey Company
Country	United States
Introduced	1928; 97 years ago (1928)[2]
Markets	Worldwide
Previous owners	F. Hoffman & Co. Milton J. Holloway Beatrice Foods Leaf International[3]
Ambassador(s)	M. J. Holloway & Co.
Tagline	Chocolatey, Caramely, and Rich with Milk Chewy. Not Gooey.
Website	hersheyland.com/milk-duds

The candy, sold in a golden-yellow theatre-style box, is an irregularly shaped caramel disk with a confectionery chocolate coating of cocoa and vegetable oil.

At its original naming, according to Hershey, "milk" referred to the product's initial milk ingredient, and "dud" referred to failed attempts to create a spherical shape.

Milk Duds

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	1,823 kJ (436 kcal)
Carbohydrates	71.8 g
Sugars	51.3 g
Dietary fibre	0 g
Fat	15.4 g
Saturated	9 g
Trans	0 g
Protein	2.6 g
Vitamins and minerals Vitamins Quantity %DV† Vitamin A equiv. 0% 0 μg Vitamin C 0% 0 mg Minerals Quantity %DV† Calcium 8% 102.6 mg Iron 0% 0 mg Sodium 11% 256.4 mg
Amounts converted and rounded to be relative to 100 g serving. Hershey's listed serving size is 39 g or 13 pieces (above amounts are ~2.5641 servings or ~33 pieces).
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[4] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies[5] Source: MILK DUDS candy - Hershey's

History

In 1928, Hoffman and Company of Chicago tried to manufacture a spherical, chocolate-covered caramel candy. Because they were unsuccessful in achieving the spherical shape, the candies were called "duds". This inspired the candy's name, "Milk Duds". In the same year, Holloway took over Hoffman and Company and the production of Milk Duds.^[6]

In 1960 Holloway sold Hoffman and Co. to Beatrice Foods.^[3]

In 1986, Leaf purchased the Milk Duds business. In 1992, production of Milk Duds candy was moved to Leaf Candy Company's Robinson, Illinois plant.^[3]

In 1996, Leaf's North American confectionery operation was acquired by Hershey Foods Corporation of Hershey, Pennsylvania.^[3]

In 2018, Huhtamäki Oyj, a Finland-based food and beverage packaging company, sold ownership of Milk Duds to Highlander Partners, who licenses the candy to Hershey.^[1]

In 2022, Milk Duds launched a web-based marketing campaign where the official website became a small overlay to view different social media sites in the main area.^[7]

Ingredients

In 2008, the Hershey Company eliminated the recipe's relatively expensive cocoa butter, substituting cheaper oils in order to retain its then current price.^[8]

Hershey's changed the description of the product and altered the packaging slightly, along with the ingredients. According to United States Food and Drug Administration food labeling laws, a chocolate-flavored coating that does not contain cocoa butter can not legally be described as milk chocolate and are instead described as "chocolate candy," as having "chocolate coating" or as "candy made with chocolate and caramel."^[9]

2024 ingredients

Corn Syrup

Sugar

Vegetable Oil (one or more of the following)

Palm Oil

Shea Oil

Sunflower Oil

Palm Kernel Oil

Safflower Oil

Dextrose

Nonfat Milk

Reduced Protein Whey

Chocolate

Contains 2% or Less of:

Brown sugar

Mono and Diglycerides

Whey

Baking Soda

Confectioner’s Glaze

Salt

Tapioca Dextrin

Lecithin

Vanillin (artificial flavoring)

See also

• List of chocolate-covered foods
• Food portal